Behaviours of poly(ε-caprolactone)/silver-montmorillonite nanocomposite in membrane ultrafiltration for wastewater treatment.

The scope of this work consists in studying the possibility of using the long-lasting antimicrobial poly(ε-caprolactone)/silver-montmorillonite (PCL/Ag-MMT) materials which we have developed in our previous research, as new class of nanocomposite membranes, finding their application in the wastewater treatment. The surface properties of these hybrid membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and contact angle measurements. The SEM results showed that the synthesized membranes exhibited homogeneous sponge microstructures. It was found that the gradual inclusion of nanoparticles (2, 3 and 5 wt. %) into PCL matrix induced a remarkable increase of the membrane thickness. Moreover, these hybrid materials exhibited an enhancement of the surface hydrophilicity attributed to the hydrophilic nature of clay incorporated. The water contact angle of the PCL membrane surface noticeably decreased after the Ag-MMT addition: dropping from 82.60° for PCL 0%Ag-MMT to 64.28° for PCL 5%Ag-MMT membrane. The antimicrobial properties of the membranes were confirmed using Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) as the model bacteria. Quality parameters including total suspended solids (TSS), electric conductivity (EC), nitrates, chlorides, bicarbonates, heavy metals and other trace elements, were determined before and after treatment of real wastewater. A decrease of nitrates by 15.12%, a diminution of sulphates by 45.61% and a removal of 41.38%, 53.57% and61.11% for heavy metals Pb, Zn and Cd respectively indicating clearly that the ultrafiltration process using PCL/AgMMT nanocomposite membranes is an effective way to eliminate the wastewater effluents.

Membranes based on polymer miscibility for selective transport and separation of metallic ions.

Polymer inclusion membranes (PIM) used for selective transport and separation of metallic ions have emerged in recent times. Their expansion depends on the method of preparation and their suitable structure and physico-chemical characteristics. In this paper, a novel category of membranes for ions separation is reported. The membranes were synthesized by thermally induced phase separation using a mixture of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and cellulose triacetate (CTA) plasticized by tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP) and with di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) incorporated into the polymer as carrier to increase specific interactions between polymers. PIM membrane exhibited a hydrophobic (∼100°) and thermally stable up to ∼200°C porous homogenous structure. The transport of Ni(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions was studied by competitive transport across polymer inclusion membranes (PIM). Competitive transport of ions in solution across PIM provide the selectivity order: Ni2+ (45%)>Pb2+ (35%)>Zn2+ (5%). A long-term transport experiment was carried out to study the durability of the system.

Extraction mechanism of ultrasound assisted extraction and its effect on higher yielding and purity of artemisinin crystals from Artemisia annua L. leaves.

This study proposes an ultrasound-horn system for the extraction of a natural active compound "artemisinin" from Artemisia annua L. leaves as an alternative to hot maceration technique. Ultrasound leaching improves artemisinin recovery at all temperatures where only ten minutes is required to recover 70% (4.42mgg-1) compared to 60min of conventional hot leaching for the same yield. For instance, ultrasound treatment at 30°C produced a higher yield than the one obtained by conventional maceration at 40°C. Kinetic study suggests that the extraction pattern can be assimilated, during the first ten minutes, to a first order steady state, from which activation energy calculations revealed that each gram of artemisinin required 7.38kJ in ultrasound versus 10.3kJ in the conventional system. Modeling results indicate the presence of two extraction stages, a faster stage with a diffusion coefficient of 19×10-5cm2min-1 for ultrasound technique at 40°C, seven times higher than the conventional one; and a second deceleration stage similar for both techniques with diffusion coefficient ranging from 1.7 to 3.1×10-5cm2min-1. It is noted that the efficient ultrasound extraction potential implies extraction of higher amount of co-metabolites so low artemisinin crystal purity is engendered but a combination with a purification step using activated charcoal and celite adsorbents produced crystals with comparable purity for conventional and ultrasound samples.

Synthesis of modified polymer inclusion membranes for photo-electrodeposition of cadmium using polarized electrodes.

In this work, we have developed a novel class of polymeric inclusion membranes (PIMs) for the cations separation. The membrane is made up of cellulose triacetate modified by poly-electrolytes (poly-phosphoric acid, polyvinyl pyrolidone, polyacrylic acid, polyvinyl alcohol and poly-anetholsulfonic acid) using 2-hydroxy-5-dodecylbenzaldehyde incorporated into the polymer as carrier and tris ethyl hexyl phosphate or glycerine as plasticizers. Different PIMs are synthesized and characterized by the Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The influence of the membrane nature is studied using supports with different physical characteristics (porosity, thickness, hydrophobia). As application, the transport of Cd(2+) using PIMs coupled with photo-electrodes is investigated. The photo-catalytic results indicate that the combined system p-CuFeO(2)/membrane/n-WO(3) enhances considerably the electrons transfer toward the delafossite CuFeO(2). The position of the conduction band of CuFeO(2) is looked to be the key issue for the photo electrochemical Cd(2+) reduction.

Cadmium (II) and lead (II) transport in a polymer inclusion membrane using tributyl phosphate as mobile carrier and CuFeO(2) as a polarized photo electrode.

In this work, a development of polymeric inclusion membranes for the cations separation is reported. The membrane was made up of cellulose triacetate (CTA) with a tributyl phosphate (TBP) incorporated into the polymer as metal ions carrier. The transport of lead (II) and cadmium (II) ions in two membrane systems polymer inclusion membrane (PIM), PIM coupled with photo-chemical electrode using TBP as carrier and 2-nitro phenyl octyl ether (NPOE) or tris ethylhexyl phosphate (TEHP) as plasticizer have been investigated. The membranes: polymer+plasticizer+carrier were synthesized and characterized by FTIR, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Transports of lead and cadmium have been studied using these systems and the results were compared to commercial cation exchange membrane (CRA). The obtained results showed that for Pb(2+) ion, the concentrations of the strip phase increases using synthesized membranes. The conduction band of the delafossite CuFeO(2) (-1.25 V(SCE)) yields a thermodynamically M(2+) (=Pb(2+), Cd(2+)) photo electrodeposition and speeds up the diffusion process. In all the cases, the potential of the electrode M/M(2+) in the feed compartment increases until a maximum value, reached at approximately 100 min above which it undergoes a diminution.

An assembled poly-4-vinyl pyridine and cellulose triacetate membrane and Bi2S3 electrode for photoelectrochemical diffusion of metallic ions.

The transport phenomena across ion exchange membrane may be enhanced by applying various strengths inside or outside the system. The electrical current, generated by n-type semiconductor, is used to catalyse the separation of metal ions. The cation exchange membrane located between the two compartments allows both the separation and concentration of M(n+) (Ag(+), Cu(2+), Pb(2+) and Ni(2+)). The flows of M(n+) from the aqueous solution to-and inside the membrane are monitored by the determination of the fluxes and the potentials. In this study, the four cations are investigated alone or in quaternary systems. From photoelectrochemical measurement, the gap of Bi(2)S(3) is found to be indirect at 1.65 eV. The shape of photocurrent potential curve and the negative flat band potential (-1.02 V(SCE)) give evidence of n-type character. The conduction band (-1.25 V(SCE)) yields thermodynamically M(2+) photoreduction and catalyzes the diffusion process. The photoelectrode Bi(2)S(3) makes the flux twofold greater than that observed in the dark. In all cases, the potential of the electrode M(2+)/M in the feed compartment increases until a maximal value, reached at approximately 100 min above which it undergoes a diminution. The membrane is more selective to Cu(2+) and this selectivity decreases in the quaternary system.